Newton College and Career Academy’s (NCCA) three robotics teams (8682N, 8682C, and 8682A) secured invitations to the VEX World Championships after stellar performances at the Georgia High School VEX Robotics State Championship held Feb. 7-8. Their senior team, 8682N, won the state championship tournament to earn their bid, while 8682A secured their spot based on their Robot Skills rankings and 8682C won the tournament’s “Amaze Award.” Only twelve teams from the state of Georgia advanced to the World Championship event, so NCCA’s having three teams on the list is truly a feat. The teams will now set their sights on the World Championships, which will be held in Dallas, TX May 6-8, 2025.
NCCA’s team 8682N (Nighthawks) were the number one seed at the state championship after a day of qualifying matches in this year’s VEX V5 game, High Stakes. In the head-to-head portion of the competition, student-designed robots work with a partner by scoring rings on stakes, placing mobile goals, and by climbing at the end of the match. The two-team alliance plays on a 12’ x 12’ field against two other robots in a back and forth offensive and defensive battle. 8682N team’s performance during the qualification rounds gave them first-seed honors to choose their alliance partner for the tournament finals bracket and they chose the number two seed, Team 5203G (Gremlin), from Ola High School to finish out the tournament. 8682N and 5203G were the only undefeated teams at the event and kept their perfect streak alive as they won their Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Finals matches against a strong field. The finals match at the state championship event follows a “best of three” format and NCCA’s alliance was able to win the finals 2-0, beating out the other alliance made up from Team 1235D, from Chamblee HS, and Team 71811N, from Northview HS, without having to force a third match.
While 8682N won the championship title, NCCA’s other teams put up impressive performances, earning their spots to the World Championships as well. Team 8682C (Crimson Dragons) impressed the judges with their Notebook and interview, which earned qualification by winning the “Amaze Award.” The Amaze Award is presented to a team with a high-quality design process, a consistent and reliable robot, a thorough and well-documented design notebook, and an impressive face-to-face interview. 8682A (Apollo) received their World Championship invitation through their performance in the Skills Challenge portion of competition, where they posted a score of 97, which ranks 130th out of 5,707 teams in the world (and 4th out of 113 teams in Georgia).
NCCA’s VEX Robotics Coach, Zachary Pitts shared his thoughts following his teams’ victories.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our teams. This achievement is a testament to their dedication, problem-solving skills, and relentless pursuit of excellence. Having three teams qualify from our school means we will represent 25% of the teams from Georgia at the World Championships and be the only school in the state with multiple teams at the event.”
Tim Schmitt, Director of CTAE & Workforce Innovation from Newton County Schools, added, “Students participating in VEX Robotics consistently exhibit high levels of enthusiasm, teamwork, and a true passion for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. NCCA’s robotics teams tirelessly push to higher-levels, and I can’t thank Coach Zack Pitts enough for all the work he puts into ensuring kids are able to achieve at the high levels in these competitions. I also know that our K-12 efforts in robotics, with multiple teams across our elementary, middle, and high schools, are producing hundreds of students who are enhancing their problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills through their involvement with robotics. Our expanded robotics efforts would not be possible without support from our signature robotics sponsor, META, and I’d like to thank them for all their support and funding assistance that helps to open the door to competitive robotics to students across the district.”
NCCA’s World Qualifying teams will join nine other high school teams from Georgia to compete at the World Championships against 800 of the world’s best teams. This event is truly an international one, where students will have a chance to compete with and against others from all over the U.S. as well as teams from China, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Finland, Chile, Turkey and more from all across the globe.
